Reyes proves mortal to cap collapse

The closer blows his first save of the season in late Tuesday's 10-8, 10-inning loss to Arizona.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published June 21, 2007

PHOENIX - Al Reyes had done so well so often, you can see why the Devil Rays thought he would never fail.

And why they were surprised when he did in Tuesday's four-hour-plus marathon 10-8 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Reyes had converted his first 16 save opportunities, setting a team record for the start of a season, and carried a personal streak of 19 dating to his 2005 season in St. Louis.

But Tuesday, he gave up a two-run tying home run to pinch-hitter Tony Clark in what turned into a 33-pitch ninth. Then, working more than one inning for the first time this season, he came back for the 10th and allowed a two-run game-ending homer to Chris Young.

"It happens, " manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday. "Nobody's perfect. It's going to happen at some point."

Reyes said it was simply a matter of throwing pitches to the wrong places. "It was one of those nights where I made a couple mistakes and I paid, " he said.

The Rays led 7-1 in the fourth and 8-2 in the sixth but let it get away, marking the third time in 14 games they lost after leading by at least six. They blew an 8-1 fourth-inning lead at Toronto on June 5 and an 8-2 fifth-inning lead at the Marlins on June 9.

"We've got to stop doing that, " Maddon said.

It was the first time the Diamondbacks beat the Rays in eight games.

[Last modified June 21, 2007, 00:50:33]